Growing In The Divine Nature Of God

In 2 Peter 1:5-7, the inspired writer Peter lays out a character development plan for those who are followers of Christ. This plan is described by seven different moral qualities known as the “Christian graces” (note the use of the word “grace” in 2 Peter 1:2). However, this moral character is not automatically acquired. God’s part is to give “exceeding great and precious promises” that enable us to become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:3-4; cf. 2 Corinthians 3:18; Hebrews 12:10). Because His promises are immutable (Hebrews 6:17-18); if we fail to incorporate God’s moral qualities into our character, we cannot blame anyone but ourselves.

In becoming partakers of the “divine nature,” we become sharers of His divine moral character. This sharing of the divine nature is unlike rulers in the ancient Babylonian and Roman empires who were exalted to the level of gods. It’s interesting to note that such rulers were not thought to be gods because of superior moral character, but because they desired to be exalted to the position and power of a god (cf. Acts 12:20-23). We become like the living God, only as we add to our character, the attributes of His moral character.

There is an inter-relationship between all the moral characteristics found in 2 Peter 1:5-7, that is equally important in our spiritual development. The whole character of man must be balanced, because unbalanced virtues become vices. Character that is overdeveloped in any one area, is skewed and dangerous. For example, moral courage that is not tempered by knowledge and love, becomes misdirected fanaticism with no tolerance for weakness. In context, God is basically saying that He has done His part, and now it’s our time to do our part. Exertion on our part is required, and without “diligence,” no spiritual growth will occur (2 Peter 1:5-10).

Though it is certainly required that we “lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness” in order to “receive with meekness the implanted word” (James 1:21), building is more than a negative force — man’s moral character is not built up by merely being against certain things. Like building muscle, building character requires spiritual nourishment (1 Peter 2:2). Then, that nourishment enables us to assimilate the energy by exercising “moral excellence” or courage (2 Peter 1:5 NASB). We must aggressively assert right principles and values as we resist the devil (1 Peter 5:8-9).

Because of our natural dispositions, we may find some of these characteristics more difficult to develop than others.  Therefore, in order to be well-rounded in character, we must work on the more difficult ones with more energy. And lest we pursue the effort to grow with only a momentary passing fancy, let us understand that God expects us to abound in these things — half-hearted efforts will only produce a dwarfed, malformed character as well as a barren spiritual life (2 Peter 1:8-9).

Beloved, we have God’s assurance that “if we do these things, we shall never stumble” (2 Peter 1:10). As followers of Christ, the more we grow in the divine nature of God, the stronger the Lord’s church will become (cf. Ephesians 4:11-16).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets